Tweets of the month

27 Apr
Arduino’s Playmate http://bit.ly/JMbOO6

20 Apr
@joanappardal The new versions usually come full of bugs... Nothing like tried and tested but recent technology ;)

20 Apr
Just heard the term 'Sky computing' for a collection of 'Clouds'... I do recall that in Terminator 2 the world ended because of Skynet :/ :)

17 Apr
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

17 Apr
Between releases... advancing groundwork

12 Apr
RT Marcus L Endicott @mendicot Wow, great list of .. "Available Open Source Dialogue Systems Frameworks" http://bit.ly/IzI84j .. by the 'Lady Doctor Bug' @joanappardal ...

Is the University paradigm changing?

There are many signs that the way we learn and teach at the University level may be approaching a paradigm shift.
What is your opinion on this subject?

The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever | Wired Science | Wired.com CS221: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, a graduate- level course taught by Stanford professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig - Last fall, the university in the heart of Silicon Valley did something it had never done before: It opened up three classes, including CS221, to anyone with a web connection. Lectures and assignments—the same ones administered in the regular on-campus class—would be posted and auto-graded online each week. Midterms and finals would have strict deadlines. Stanford wouldn’t issue course credit to the non-matriculated students. But at the end of the term, students who completed a course would be awarded an official Statement of Accomplishment.

University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department, Increases Athletic Budgets. Hmm. - Forbes: The University of Florida announced this past week that it was dropping its computer science department, which will allow it to save about $1.7 million. The school is eliminating all funding for teaching assistants in computer science, cutting the graduate and research programs entirely, and moving the tattered remnants into other departments.

PayPal Co-Founder Hands Out $100,000 Fellowships To Not Go To College : The Two-Way : NPR: Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder and one of the first investors in Facebook, is proposing a controversial path toward more rapid innovation. Today his Thiel Foundation announced that it was giving 24 people under 20 $100,000 fellowships to drop out of school for two years to start a their own companies.

More:

Udacity/

Coursera

MITx

iTunes U

Notes on Sleep, Diet and more...

(via Joana)

Foods containing the amino acid tryptophan are sleep-inducing (Sleepers)
and foods that contain the amino acid tyrosine delay sleep (Wakers).

-> INDUCE SLEEP
Egg yolk, cashew, beef, almonds, bananas and potatoes

Some foods like bananas, figs, dates, milk, whole grain crackers and yogurt
contain tryptophan, so eating them in the evening may also help promote rest.

-> DELAY SLEEP
peanuts, coffee, sandwiches, protein shakes, soy products and apples

• Watch what you eat in the evenings.
A huge dinner meal with a carb-laden dessert or snack later might make you feel sleepy, but it really doesn’t do your sleeping schedule any good. Sugar will give you a serious hit of energy before you crash, and the sleep that you get once you’re anesthetized by the food will most likely be more restless and maybe even interrupted through the night.

• Avoid caffeine as much as possible.
If you must have that morning coffee, cut yourself off in the afternoon. At the very least, stop consuming anything containing caffeine anywhere from 3 to 5 hours before you’d like to go to sleep—the longer, the better. Don’t forget that those fancy coffee drinks that taste more like a dessert than coffee are still packed with an ample amount of caffeine. Don’t forget caffeine related soft drinks those contain enough caffeine to keep you awake, as well. Try an herbal tea designed to promote sleepiness an hour or so before bed.

• Offer yourself to some comfort
Try to create an atmosphere that facilitates sleep.
Firstly try to keep your place cool and quiet.
Visualization techniques can be effective;
either in your mind or on the walls around you,
so try to imagine something peaceful or
use posters of calming imagery on the wall.
Lastly your bed and pillow to have to be comfortable enough
for you to get good sleep.

• Use your bed for nothing but sleep.
If you like to watch TV in bed,
spend your evening TV watching time in the living room instead.
Don’t work, pay bills or do anything potentially stressful in bed, either.
This makes it harder for your mind to associate your bed with sleep and rest.

• Remove work.
If you have a desk overflowing with work and things to be done in your bedroom,
consider moving it so you’re not subconsciously aware of all that’s left to do
every time you try to go to sleep.

• Take a warm shower before bedtime.
Taking a hot bath or shower an hour or two before bed,
this can help open up your pores and relax your body.

• Set a routine.
Focus on going to bed and getting up at the same time each day,
and establish a bedtime routine that starts an hour or two
before your bedtime to train your body to start winding things down.

Routines
Another great way to prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep is to keep to routines. If you like a cup of milk or chamomile tea before you head to bed then that’s fine – keep doing that – it tells your mind and body that you are beginning to wind down and get ready for bed.
Part of the skill is in training your mind and your body to know when you want to sleep – you don’t want your mind racing about all kinds of things when you want to be settling down for the night.
Keeping to a routine with your sleep and wake times will also help with this. Try to get up around the same time each day and go to bed at around the same time too. Your body will appreciate the natural rhythm this brings to your day.

• Watch your naps.
Be smart with your naps during the day,
Naps are a great way to recharge your system,
but they can also affect your sleep cycle in a negative way.

• Make your room black.
Turn off all lights and ambient noise in your room.
Extra light and loud noises can cause the body to stir and stay up
into the long hours of the night.

• Take out the clock.
A clock facing you can sometimes cause you to stare at it
in the most stressful of circumstances causing you to stay away
and stress over what time it is.

Exercise
Exercising has many benefits for keeping a healthy body – one of the side benefits is that it will also help good rest. Try to exercise regularly at least 4 or 5 times a week and you should notice your quality and duration of rest improving over time.
Above are just 5 ways you can help promote better sleep – you see how diverse they are? From the right mattress and environment for the bedroom, to diet and exercise and psychological factors – sleep doesn’t always come easily to people…..some may need a little help!

Aerobic exercise is a great way to release stress from the body. Since stress can hinder sleep, you can fall asleep more quickly by getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three days a week.
Some examples of mild to moderate aerobic exercise are: mowing the lawn, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, active playtime with children, and taking a short walk around the block.
Forms of high intensity aerobic exercise include: jogging, skating, swimming, biking, walking on a treadmill, and taking a brisk walk.
Because aerobic exercise stimulates the body, be sure there are at least three hours between the time you exercise and bedtime.

Avoid Brainstorming
Does it not happen that while you watch a horror movie or a murder mystery, you find it difficult to sleep? Your brain is then too excited and exhilarated to be able to calm down and thus- the sleeplessness. Therefore, avoid unnecessary brainstorming after a sleepless night. This also entails not thinking about complex issues or taking too much of stress on your mind when you plan to get sleep. The best way to achieve peace of mind in case your mind is perturbed is to meditate. Meditation calms your mind, while attending to your sleep requirements largely.

Exercise Everyday
You must be reluctant to get up from your bed after those sleepless nights. A small stimulation of the whole body can make you forget the drowsiness. Make it a routine regime to exercise in moderate amounts after getting up and keep your body and mind healthy. After all a healthy mind lies in a healthy body.

Eating Healthy
Did you know, what you eat affects your sleep and activity to a great extent? Gorging on a heavy meal will mean pushing all your accumulated energy in digesting those bulky stuffs and therefore lead to blood sugar fluctuations. Therefore, in order to perform well after a bad night’s sleep, it is essential to keep your food light and hop into your bed early.

Sources:
http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/10-tips-good-nights-sleep/
http://www.ehow.com/how_5054058_choose-foods-cure-insomnia.html
http://slimmersexpert.com/how-to-curb-appetite
http://www.jarretmorrow.com/fat-burning-tips/
http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/study-sleep-dieting-lose-fat/

How to reset UltraEdit settings?

In Windows Explorer in the address bar at top of the window enter following

%appdata%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\

and press Return or Enter to open this directory.

You will see some files, delete all of them when UltraEdit is not running.

Source: IDM Forum

Java vs Groovy on overriden method call

In Java, suppose we have the following class:

public class Do {
    public void doSomething(Object arg) {
        System.out.println("Do " + arg.toString());
    }
}

We then extend it in the following class:

public class DoDifferently extends Do {
    public void doSomething(Object arg) {
        System.out.println("Do different " + arg.toString());
    }
    public void doSomething(String arg) {
        System.out.println("Do different string " + arg.toString());
    }
}

Now let's use these classes in our program:

Do o = new Do();
o.doSomething("x");

executes the Object method.

DoDifferently o2 = new DoDifferently();
o2.doSomething("x");

executes the String method because it is more specific.

What about the following code?

Do o3 = new DoDifferently();
o3.doSomething("x");

It will execute the Object method, because Java uses the reference type to determine which method to call.

What about Groovy?

The code above is also valid in Groovy.

The String method is always executed when available, because Groovy uses the most specific method for the argument type, determined dynamically at run-time.

Excruciating

Edith Stein wrote the following during her Doctoral Studies:

This excruciating struggle to attain clarity was waged unceasingly inside me, depriving me of rest, day and night.
Little by little I worked myself to a state of veritable despair.

Now you know that a PhD can drive even a saint crazy! ;)